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Thomas Mervyn (your great grandfather) (living in Innisfallen Parade, Dublin at time of marriage) married Margaret Broderick (Prussia Street), Dublin. 1860?-1902. I have records for three of the four children they had - Thomas Joseph Mervyn born 1891 (was he born in Dublin? I had a birth/baptism cert for him from Belfast),  Mary Brigid Mervyn (1892) and William Joseph Mervyn (?).

David, this is a tall order. If you have family details of my great father and especially his 3 children I would appreciate a scanned copy if you are able to do this or let me know where I can get some of these details. Much appreciatedd your help so far.

Martin M

Hi Martin,

Thanks for the replies. Yeah, would be great to see you in Dublin. Two grand nephews of Thomas Mervyn are still surviving in Dublin, my own father Michael Mervyn and his brother Patrick Mervyn.

If you register on www.rootsireland.ie - pay site - you can purchase transcriptions of records. It seems like the other three children may have passed away at an early age, but I can't find any death records for them. Just their births.

On the 1911 census, it seems to suggest that Margaret is a widower and has four children, only one of which survived - William.

I have the following...

Date of Marriage: 30-Jul-1888
Parish / District: ST.PAUL'S ARRAN QUAY  County: Co. Dublin
Name: Thomas Mervyn  Margaret Broderick
Address: 77 Innisfallen Parade  71 Prussia Street
Denomination: Roman Catholic 
Husband's Father  Wife's Father
Name: William Mervyn  Michael Broderick
Husband's Mother  Wife's Mother
Name: Bridget Dunne  Ellen Murphy

Name: Thomas Joseph Mervin (should be Mervyn) Date of Baptism/Birth: 22-Apr-1891
Address: 92 Albert Street Parish/District: ST. PETER'S, BELFAST CO ANTRIM
County Co. Antrim
Denomination: Roman Catholic
Father: Thomas Mervin Mother: Margaret Brodrick
Sponsor 1 /Informant 1: Catherine T Vallely (Thomas' sister)
 
Name: William Joseph Mervyn Date of Baptism/Birth: 21-Mar-1891
Address: 52 Albert Street Parish/District: URBAN 4 CIVIL, BELFAST
County Co. Antrim
Denomination: Civil Parish / District
Father: Thomas Mervyn Mother: Maggie Broderick
Occupation: Shoemaker 
Sponsor 1 /Informant 1: Mary Keogh

Name: Mary Brigid Mervyn Date of Baptism/Birth: 10-Jul-1892
Address: 52 Albert Street Parish/District: ST. PETER'S, BELFAST CO ANTRIM
County Co. Antrim
Denomination: Roman Catholic
Father: Thomas Mervyn Mother: Margaret Broderick
Sponsor 1 /Informant 1: Mary Sherwood (Thomas' sister)

James Mervyn, a wood turner in George Street, is down in the 1877 directory for Belfast.

http://www.lennonwylie.co.uk/alphanames1877m.htm

Thomas Mervyn, a bootmaker at 4 Murdock Street, is there in the 1901 directory for Belfast.

http://www.lennonwylie.co.uk/alphanames1901M.htm

John Vallely, Kate Mervyn's husband, is down as a preparing master at 81 Albert Street in 1907.

http://www.lennonwylie.co.uk/acomplete1907.htm

Margaret Mervyn, 46 Elizabeth Street.

http://www.lennonwylie.co.uk/ecomplete1907.htm

Margaret Mervyn, 46 Elizabeth Street.

http://www.lennonwylie.co.uk/ecomplete1910.htm

Margaret Mervyn, 46 Elizabeth Street.

http://www.lennonwylie.co.uk/ecomplete1918.htm

Hi Martin,

Dave Mervyn is my name - Daisymershum comes from not being able to pronounce my name when I was a toddler! I'm from Dublin.

My great grandfather was William Mervyn, a brother of your Thomas Mervyn. Their father was William Mervyn (born circa 1827, possibly in England).

William Mervyn senior married Bridget Dunne in Dublin and had, by my estimations, 10 or 11 children. I have records for the following children:

William Mervyn (my great grandfather) married Catherine Power, Dublin. 1862-1901

Thomas Mervyn (your great grandfather) (living in Innisfallen Parade, Dublin at time of marriage) married Margaret Broderick (Prussia Street), Dublin. 1860?-1902. I have records for three of the four children they had - Thomas Joseph Mervyn born 1891 (was he born in Dublin? I had a birth/baptism cert for him from Belfast),  Mary Brigid Mervyn (1892) and William Joseph Mervyn (?).

William and Thomas' brothers and sisters were: Margaret, Anne Marie or Maria, John, Christopher, Bridget, Ellen, Josephine (there was no Joseph!) Mary and Catherine (Kate). All were born between 1860 and 1876. I actually think Bridget (Dunne) might have died giving birth to Bridget in 1876.

Most of these settled in Dublin in the 1880s/1890s after the family had spent a fair time in Celbridge, Co. Kildare while William snr worked as a lodge keeper. Shoemaking or bootmaking was the family trade.

William snr and his sons were all bootmakers and worked in various premises in Dublin. Mostly Innisfallen Parade, Berkely Road and the north inner city.

Some of the girls were teachers in Celbridge and elsewhere, Ellen and Kate. The Belfast link is interesting because Kate married a Vallely and moved to Belfast and Thomas and Margaret (Broderick) also moved to Belfast.

William snr, your great great grandfather, died in Dublin in 1891, aged 64. He was living at 13 Innisfallen Parade at the time. He is down as a bootmaker and widower. He is buried in an unmarked grave in Glasnevin cemetery, the cause of death was 'debility'.

Unfortunately, with living in tenements and te poor conditions/spread of diseases, some of William and Thomas' sibilings died at a young age. Maria died a few months before William snr in 1891, aged 19. Ellen died in 1894, aged 34. Both are buried with William snr in Glasnevin.

My own great grandfather, William jnr, died of phthisis in 1901 in Dublin, aged 39. He was a bootmaker at the time in Berkely Road. He had three sons, William (stone carver), Patrick (clerk, Captain in Irish Army) and Michael (electrical engineer, Trade Union President and Irish Citizen Army member from 1916 Easter Rising). Michael was father to my own dad, Michael.

Of what I've looked into regarding the Mervyns who moved north, these are my census links:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Antrim/Falls/Murdocks_Street/951955/
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Antrim/Smithfield/Albert_Street/972482/

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Antrim/Falls__Belfast_/Elizabeth_Street/180817/
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Antrim/Smithfield/Albert_Street/184986/

Hi,

Just researching my grandfather Michael Mervyn and his involvement in the 1916 Rising. I had thought he was living at 54 Bayview Avenue when he participated in Easter Week.

But I came across the following last night and it has him down as living at '590 North Circular Road', aged 19:

http://books.google.ie/books?ei=p_5bTeDcDsq2hQeO7OXVDQ&ct=result&id=dbQ0AQAAIAAJ&dq=mervyn+590+n.+circular+road&q=mervyn#search_anchor

Would it be possible that he gave a fake address or that he was actually living there? In the 1911 Census, he is living with his mother and two brothers in North Great Georges Street.

What added to the mystery about 590 North Circular Road was the following:

http://www.historyireland.com/volumes/volume8/issue2/letters/?id=113487

'590 North Circular Road

Sir,—I am searching for historical or social information about howsingle pregnant girls were helped in giving birth in Dublin around thebeginning of the twentieth century. In particular I have evidence of anumber of births in 1916 at 590 North Circular Road. The person givenas present at the births was a Frances Moran. Dr Barnado’s, ChristChurch Place, informs me that quite a number of people who came to themlooking for their birth-parents give 590 NCR as their place of birth.Before 1916 the address of the house was 30 Richmond Place. It is stillstanding near the corner of Summerhill and the NCR and is believed tobe two hundred years old. On the NCR there were many nursing homes, butin contrast to number 590 they were registered as such. Local knowledgeis very sparse, but I have been informed that the house was usedexclusively for girls from the country and certainly not for girls fromDublin. It was run by a midwife I am told. In particular I aminterested in the question how and by whom and for how long this‘private’ home was run.

CHARLES GRADY'

So any ideas if 590 NCR was his correct address?

Cheers,
Dave (DaisyMershum)

Mystery solved! The Military Archives in Cathal Brugha Barracks emailed me back, and cleared everything up!

Turns out my dad was wrong and it is not a photo of my grand uncle, Captain Patrick Mervyn.

Hugh in the archives said: 'I have checked the photo and it is actually a portrait of General Sean McMahon, the Chief of Staff of the Free State Army from August 1922 until March 1924. The writing at the bottom is his signature, so it is a nice photograph to have!
 
'The rank markings on the collar are a sign of a senior Staff Officer. Captain Mervyn would have had three bars specifically on his shoulder flashes.'

It turns out my grand uncle worked closely with Sean McMahon during his time in the army (1922-1926).

Patrick was Staff Officer in Chief of Staff’s Department, General Headquarters, and Personal Staff Officer to General Officer Commanding, Southern Command, Major General Sean McMahon.'

Hugh told me: 'Captain Mervyn would have been involved with clerical work in both Offices that he worked in. Major General McMahon was actually Chief of Staff (COS) during part of Capt Mervyn’s time in the Chief of Staff’s Office. General Richard Mulcahy was COS before that (he went on to be Commander in Chief after Collins’ death during the Civil War) and General Peadar McMahon was COS after that.
 
'Maj Gen McMahon asked for Capt Mervyn to be transferred down to him as his Personal Staff Officer (PSO) once he returned to Southern Command as General Officer Commanding (GOC), as the captain was familiar with the type of work involved.
 
'This work would have ranged from secretarial type work, to escort duty, liaison with various committees and Corps, and basically any work that the GOC might throw at him. The Captain who works here has had experience as a PSO to a Force Commander on one of the UN missions, and he says that he has never been so busy!'

Nice of him to go to the trouble. Thanks again to all who made suggestions. Would be interested to find out more about Sean McMahon.